The present invention is directed to a low waste liquid filter. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a low waste liquid filter in which the filter media used therewith is replaceable.
For many years, internal combustion engines used by vehicles have generally relied on spin-on type oil filters for lubricating oil. These filters are periodically changed and must be disposed of. In the past lubricating oil filters were disposed of in landfills, a practice now forbidden because spin-on housings and filter media contain lubricating oil which can contaminate the soil and ground water. It is therefore the current practice to disposed of these filters in other ways.
Since spin-on filters necessarily have cylindrical housings, filter media is most conveniently annular which is not necessarily the best configuration for the filter if the filter media must be removed. This is because the axis of a spin-on type filter necessarily projects from the engine block thus taking up additional lateral space. In order to remove the annular filter media without removing its canister there must be space provided for both the axial extent of the canister and the axial extent of the filter media. Accordingly, the canister must be removed, opened and reclosed with a new annular filter before it is replaced.
Moreover, it is not possible to check the condition of the filter media of disposable spin-on filters, nor is it convenient to sample filtered or unfiltered liquid.
Additionally, since the lubricating oil normally flows from an annular space external the filter media to a hollow cylindrical space within the filter media, tapping the central space within the filter media with a probe to obtain technical information (such as pressure within the filter media and the condition of just filtered oil) presents a challenge since such probes must penetrate both the housing and the closed end of the filter element of which the filter media is an integral part.
In view of these considerations, there is a need for oil filter configurations which address the current requirements that used filter media be recycled in a way that does not endanger the environment, while having a configuration which is conveniently mounted with respect to space available in a vehicle having an engine, while providing convenient access for inspecting the filter media and lubrication oil, and for mounting monitoring probes.
In view of the aforementioned considerations, the present invention is directed to a lubricating oil filter comprising a housing having a first shell with a first wall and a second shell having a second wall facing the first wall. A shoulder is provided on the first wall, which shoulder faces the second wall and a filter media is mounted on the shoulder in spaced relation to the first wall to define an filter oil collection chamber between the filter media and the first wall. A rib is provided on the second wall, the rib faces the shoulder on the first wall and engages the filter media to clamp the filter media between the first and second walls, the rib being in spaced relation to the second wall to define a distribution chamber between the filter media and the second wall for receiving unfiltered lubricating oil. An unfiltered lubricating oil inlet is disposed through the second wall and a filtered lubricating oil outlet is disposed through the first wall. The inlet is laterally spaced from the outlet, whereby unfiltered lubricating oil is spread over the filter media after entering the inlet being filtered by the filter media; collected as filtered lubricating oil in the collection chamber and passed through the filtered lubricating oil outlet.
In a more specific aspect of the invention, the filter media is a flat sheet filter media, and in an alternative aspect of the invention, the filter media is a pleated pack filter media.
In still a more specific aspect of the invention, the housing is configured as a rectangle or square with the inlet being at one end of the rectangle and the outlet being at the other end of the rectangle.
In still further aspects of the invention, a bypass valve can be provided in the lubricating oil filter, the bypass being through the filter media itself, being integral with the housing or bypassing the lubricating oil filter completely.
Still another aspect of the invention, if the filter media is a pleated pack filter media, the peaks and valleys thereof extend the inlet to the outlet.